Earth Day Thursday- Save the Big Wooden Spools

I know jealousy is a terrible quality,

however

I have been sweating all of the electrical and cable spool upcycles I have seen around blog town lately. I was so sad, because I have no access to them, never see them lying about, don't have any connection to big electrician or cable installers.

Well, lookee what I have sittin in my garage right now...

When we drove all my goodies up to the shop, we noticed about 10 gigantic spools out back (along with about 59 pallets-Alli and I are a match made in crafting heaven).

Her lovely husband Cory has a secret connection and get as many spools and pallets as Alli wants, so he offered to load up a few more me in our truck.

YAY ME!

So as usual, when some new score lands in my lap I headed off to pinterest and Google search to get inspired.

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Hmmmmm, I can't wait to get started!

Earth Day Thursday- 20 Upcycling Projects

Good morning to all you "greenies" out there! 

Here is a great collection of fun and innovative eco-friendly recycling and upcycling ideas! I always like to see what creative types can do with regular old, "junk."

Click on the link to go to the source.

Upcycled Milk Jug Pouch

Tree Swing 

(from a broken chair)

Milk Crate Buffet

Soda Bottle Planter Wall

Metal Canister Light Fixture

Diaper Box Bins

Vintage Suitcase Medicine Cabinet

Old Tire Planters

Found Drawer Shelves

Bathroom Bicycle Vanity

Book Lounger

Rolling Pin Hook Rack

Blender Light Fixture

Broken Chair Bathroom Shelf

Denim Jean Placemats

Old Jar Kid Organizers

Broken Fan =Working Lamp

Dresser into a Useful Kitchen Island

But, the really cute part is on the back.....

wait for it.....

Milk Crate Light Fixture

Broken Pot Planter

These projects are so inspiring to me and it is always fun to get a reminder of what beautiful things can be created from "junk."

8-Track Tape Clock Tutorial

What up my 70's loving friends? 

I told you I snatched every last 8-Track tape my thrift store had in stock. The clerk was impressed that I still had an 8-Track player and when I told her that sadly I did not, but I was going to turn these tapes into I-Pod docks and clocks she looked at me like I had a screw loose. 

Well, maybe I do, but WHATEVS!

Check out this rad clock!

It's the soundtrack from the movie Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman-AWESOME

The tapes I used for my I-Pod docks popped apart so easily, however I almost chopped off more than one finger trying to pry this case apart at the beginning of this project!

TMTOMH can not be held responsible if you try this at home.

I used every pokey and sharp device I could to pop this son of a *$%@# apart. I am shocked I actually got it apart without breaking it.

I emptied it all out and the kids got crazy with the 17 miles of tape found inside...again. Apparently that game never gets old:)

Lucky for me there was already a small hole in the center. So I snipped off the bracket

and used the scissors to twist and turn and scrape to enlarge the hole to fit my clock parts.

again,,,please don't do this at home and hurt yourself

Then I popped in the clock insides

and attached the hands.

Now, I will admit, I was stumped at this crossroads in my project and this little clock sat just this way for about a month. I tried mounting it on a piece of wood and it just didn't look right. So I decided to paint a $1 IKEA photo frame black and I epoxied the tape to the edge of the frame.

I desperately wanted a way to attach the back of the tape as well, so the clock would look cool from both sides, but I just couldn't figure it out. I tried hinges, velcro, hooks. But nothing looked good, attached securely, AND was removable for battery replacement. So I decided to use a weathered piece of scrapbook paper in the actual photo slot.

I will probably try to find a print of the album cover to use instead. But it does look fun for sure!

Anyone need to keep some retro time?

Come on all you creative and inventive people out there. What else could I do with these tapes? I still have 3 from my first purchase and I grabbed 3 more the other day. I am determined to use these nostalgic and fun tapes for some cool projects!